Viruses - Structural Biology

Transcript from "Viruses," National Center for Macromolecular ImagingStructural biology is a branch of science fighting the war on viruses. Understanding how a virus lives and multiplies is the key to solutions that stop the chemical process the virus uses. Antiviral agents are one of the weapons in this war. Just as a bacterium in an infected cell absorbs antibiotics and dies, an antiviral agent is absorbed into the infected host cell. There, it destroys a unique chemical the virus needs; the virus is disabled.

Additional Virus information:The Sindbis virus is a member of the Togaviridae that is spread by mosquitoes and replicates inside the host cell cytoplasm. These viruses have been used as vectors in biomedical research, for example to transfer genes into host cells.